Lakers adding second grade section due to enrollment

Because of increased enrollment, Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker Elementary is adding a fourth section of second grade to create smaller class sizes to benefit students.

A current staff member will be taking the additional teaching position.

Laker Elementary Principal Kathy Dickens said without the fourth section, each of the second grade classrooms has 28 students. In early elementary grades, a class size of 22 or 23 is optimal, she said.

“At that age, they’re getting their reading foundation,” Dickens said. “It’s important for teachers to sit and read with students in small groups and listen to them read. This needs to be done regularly. In a big class, that is more difficult to do.”

She said the school waited a few weeks to see if the second grade enrollment would fluctuate, as enrollment typically does in the first few weeks of school. The second-grade enrollment remained high, so the decision was made to add the section.

The fourth section will be taught by Kim Roughley, who has been a behavior interventionist for the past few years. She knows the second graders because she worked with them when they were in kindergarten.

“She has elementary teaching certification and is highly qualified for this position,” Dickens said.

For one week prior to starting her teaching position, Roughley visited the second grade rooms, observing and co-teaching.

When deciding which students to place in the fourth section, Dickens and the second grade teachers reviewed placement information shared by parents in the spring of last school year. Parents answered questions about their students, and this information was used to select a few pairs of students from each second-grade section to move to the new section.

Dickens said she called the parents of each student that was selected to move to the new section. She also sent them a letter. In addition, she sent a letter to the rest of the second-grade parents about the change. She invited parents to contact her with questions or concerns, and she said the parents have been very supportive.

With the fourth second-grade section, there will be about 21 students in each classroom.

“Smaller class sizes in early elementary allow teachers to focus more on individual student needs and more easily differentiate instruction to improve needed skill areas,” Dickens said. “Smaller class sizes will allow teachers the space to more frequently use instructional centers, small groups, projects and experiments.”

Dickens and the rest of Laker Elementary is excited about the addition of the second grade section.

“We want what is best for our kids, even if that means making changes, and changes can be difficult,” she said. “We want to make sure the education we’re giving our students is the best it can be so students can reach their full potential.”

Photo caption – Kim Roughley works with her class on her first day as a second-grade teacher.